Desert Bluffs Symphony Orchestra
by FluteTitan
Summary: This story takes place right after the events in Triptych. Sarah was just a normal flute player. From a normal town. With a normal boyfriend who worked at the normal radio station. But all that was lost with the takeover of Strexcorp, forcing Sarah and her fellow musicians to flee from their oppressed town.


Hi! I just wanted to let you all know that this is my first ever story being posted on FanFiction. This is just the first of many chapters that I have and I want feedback before I continue adding more chapters! I hope you enjoy!

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"Good evening listeners!" The voice of Night Vale, Cecil Palmer, said into his mike with a wide smile across his face. "I have a special treat for all of you! I have in the studio today the principle flute player of the Night Vale Symphony Orchestra, Sarah Éclair! How are you doing this fine evening?"

"I'm doing well Cecil, Thank you," Sarah said with a light smile that spread across her thin lips.

"Listeners, Sarah here has come to speak to us about the music life of the orchestra! Although I am a fan of Lee Marvin, there is nothing better than going back to the classics!" he said with a smile.

"Actually Lee Marvin is orchestrating a piece for us to play," Sarah said with a light laugh. "It'll be a theme from the opera that he just produced."

"That's amazing! I can't wait to hear it!" he said happily. "Now let's start from the beginning. Where did you first start your career?" Cecil asked. "Did you start off with one of the hooded figured that used to play a lute out behind Big Rico's Pizza?"

"Actually Cecil… I'm not originally from Night Vale," he said nervously.

"INTERLOPER!" Cecil said before he took a sharp intake of breath. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me," he said taken aback by himself.

"It's okay. That's the proper way to deal with strangers," she assured.

"Well, where are you from, if not from Night Vale?" he asked still in a cheery mood.

"You won't like it," she said with a small smile.

"Don't be shy, you can say it," Cecil assured.

"Desert Bluffs," she said with more confidence in her voice.

"What?" Cecil asked getting a twitch in his eye.

"Yes, actually the entire orchestra came from Desert Bluffs," she stated.

"Really?" Cecil asked his voice hardened.

"Cecil," she said.

"Yes?" he asked.

"We escaped from Strexcorp. Your city council was gracious enough to grant us asylum here and create the Night Vale Symphony Orchestra," she stated, blankly.

"What?" Cecil said with surprise.

"Yes… Actually the main reason I actually agreed to come and talk was because of your previous show that—had Kevin in it…" she said. "And the other members and I think it's time to tell our story," she stated with more conviction. "And don't worry, Mayor Cardinal and the City Council have approved this," she said in a cheerier tone.

"Well—Well that's great!" Cecil said a little off put. "But before you start your story though… Did you know Kevin?" he asked.

"Kevin was to me how Carlos is to you, Cecil," she said lovingly. "Simple as that," she said.

"What happened?" Cecil asked intrigued.

"I'll get to that later…" she said laughing lightly. "The other members have had an earful of it already. And it's not the main subject of today," he said moving to push some stray hairs behind her ear.

"Alright then," Cecil said getting a little more serious in his tone. "Tell us everything," he stated.

"Desert Bluffs. It was a town, though more like a little desert community. There was a town hall, a secret and menacing government, community radio, and even a community orchestra. This place was my home. The beautiful Bluffs' was what we used to call it," she said seeing Cecil roll his eyes. "It was the best place on earth, according to our old city council. But that was before Strexcorp came in and brought it's "productivity" into our lives and made everything… Everything had become about pleasing a god that always smiled, always smiled. We had to always smile…" she said bitterly as she clutched her hands on her lap.

"My life before Strexcorp was surrounded by the music of the community orchestra that pleased the people of Desert Bluffs and the towns surrounding it. We were lucky that productivity had to lead to play, or Strexcorp would have done away with… no… killed us if we were deemed unproductive for our town.

"Now going along with public mandate, I can't tell you about my childhood, because there is no proof that I existed, you know because time's weird and stuff. But I'd been, presumably, been playing for a while and got into the community orchestra," she said. "Back then Strexcorp was just a small franchise," she stated.

"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!" someone called out as a room full of musicians started to pack up after their rehearsal.

"What, what, what!" Sarah called out happily as a woman carrying a violin came over to her.

"I have a date tonight!" the woman called out.

"Marisa! You have a date!" Sarah yelled throwing her cleaning supplies down and going to give the woman a hug.

"I know right!" she said giving the smaller woman a hug.

Marisa was of considerable height and build, considering her previous work fighting off the slight patch of haze that had been terrorizing their town to buy insurance. Her brown curly hair always tied back in case she needed to take action and defend the orchestra. I mean that's why all violinists had to be capable fighters.

"Who is it?" Sarah asked as she sat back down to clean her flute.

"It's that handsome man with that tan jacket who lurks around town," Marisa said sitting down next to the smaller woman, taking a bit of her long, straight, black hair to braid. "We've been talking for a while," she said almost star struck.

"Just be careful," Sarah laughed as he closed up her supplies into a backpack. "You don't want to get trapped in the void again."

"That was terrifying!" She laughed loudly. "It was great!"

"That's why you're a violinist," Sarah laughed as she lightly tugged her hair out of Marisa's hands. "Then I guess I won't see you back at home tonight?" she asked, pulling out a little, red cellular phone, opening a message.

"Yes you and Kevin can have the apartment," Marisa laughed heartily.

"Geez… You don't need to say it that loud…" Sarah said as her face reddened with embarrassment as others in the ensemble looked at them.

"Sarah we musicians all live in the same, government approved, musical housing! Everyone knows you and Kevin are together!" she said with a smirk. "Hell Ricky and Milo from downstairs have heard you two—"

"OKAY! That's enough!" Sarah said loudly to stop her friend from continuing her thought as she stood up. "Have a good time on your date!" she said loudly as he placed her backpack on her shoulders, turning to leave. "Don't get abducted again! I won't come and save you this time!" she yelled back raising a hand up as her goodbye.

When Sarah had exited the building into the hot, boiling air of the town, she took out her phone, pressed a button, and placed it up to her ear, hearing the device ring in her ear canal.

"You've reached Kevin!" the receiver end said happily.

"How are you doing this fine evening?" Sarah asked with a smile.

"Sarah! I'm so glad you called," Kevin said fondly. "But I'm about to enter a meeting," he said.

"That's alright. Community Radio is very important and needs meetings to make it even more great than it already is," she said happily. "Come by my place when you're done making radio great, aright?" she asked with a smile.

"Of course," Kevin said with content. "I'll see you in about an hour or so," he said.

"Alright, love you," she said.

"Love you too," he said before they both hung up.

When returning back to her and Marisa's shared apartment, Sarah closed the door behind her and dropped everything she was carrying to the floor as she let out a groan of exhaustion. When she finally recovered with a sigh, she moved her hands behind her back to unhook the top of the yellow sundress she was wearing.

Moving into the kitchen, Sarah went through the cabinets and started to cook up some rice. When going over to the refrigerator, she took out two huge bleeding mushrooms, heating them up in a pan. When she put the rice with the cooking fungus, she placed a lid over the meal and let it simmer.

With extra time still needing to be filled before Kevin came home, Sarah picked up a book that read, 'The Life and History of Lee Marvin'. It had been mandated by the City Council that all citizens read and digest the meaning of this book by the end of the year. Hey no harm in getting reading out of the way before it became illegal again.

Getting about a quarter ways though the book, she heard a shuffling at the door before it opened, revealing a handsome young man with light blond hair in nice black pants with a yellow dress shirt tie under a silver vest. But Sarah noticed that he wasn't in his normal cheerful mood. He seemed angry, and that was one thing she never liked Kevin being.

"What happened?" she asked bluntly as he dropped his brief case next to her discarded bags.

"Give me a minute," he said scowling at the floor as he went and sat next to her at the square table.

As the moments went by, Sarah could feel a tense feeling coming off of the man next to her. She had only felt this off of him once before and that was when the City Council had banned the use of torches as use for feeding dogs.

"Kevin…?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm.

"Strexcorp is getting stronger…" he said staring at the table.

"What happened?" she asked.

"One of their representatives came to the studio for a meeting. She said that it would be best for the Station to stop voicing opinions about the corporation," he stated.

"But… That's you…" she said tightening her grip on his arm.

"They came for me," he said tightening the grip of his hands.

"Kevin… It's just for their business… No one likes to be slammed on the radio…"

"It's freedom of speech! Mandated by the City Council!" he defended. "Most of the time…" he said with a soft chuckle.

"It'll be alright," she said taking his hand. "The people of Desert Bluffs can see thought Strex. They'll continue to buy from the local markets and run them out of town! That's the Capitalistic way of this great country of America," she said.

"You may be right," he said giving her a soft smile.

"Let's forget that meeting and enjoy a nice dinner," she said standing up as they finally made eye contact for the first time.

"T-That would be amazing…" he said giving her a shy smile.


End file.
